packaged pond plants from Home Depot

I bought a hardy water lily from home depot... it was in a plastic package and inside of it there was a sort of bag which contained the plant/bulb that can be dropped into the water at a certain depth (i placed mine on one of my shelves). The plant had a sort of moldy film on it and i have no idea how long it was packaged... the plant was actually growing out of the fiber bag that it comes in which was inside of the box. I saw that some of the leaves were very green and 2 were brown. I thought the brown one was rotten or moldy so i broke it off but it seemed green inside. After i rinsed the mold off, i dropped it in the water (that was today).

Anyone else bought any of these packaged plants to try out? Any luck with them or do you think its a waste of money? Each box said "Guaranteed to grow" on the outside so that is why I bought it...

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If it does not grow save your receipt and packaging and they will give you a replacemnt or your money back .i have bought them but some luck some not .I found a couple of garden centers after i googled and found them in the yellow pages

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My first one was from Lowes over ten yrs ago and it has thrived wonderfully and made many babies to give away! You just have to be careful in selecting one as sometimes they are dried out from people opening the boxes to look in and not closing them back up. Sounds like yours will be fine.

I bought some online and they all looked exactly how you described it, kind of sickly, but it's been a week and one of them is doing amazing well, the others appear to be moving in the right direction. I'm not worried at all, I would bet yours is in good health as well.

I bought one last year that appeared to be very dry, no leaves no moisture package was open. It never grew. This year I bought one and it is growing and flowering beautifully. It was still moist when I bought it and had a few leaves and buds starting to grow in the package. I repotted mine into an oil pan with kitty litter right away after I got it. Those tiny little pots don't give a lot of room.

Here is an update- 1 plant out of 4 did not make it. The one that didnt make it was a Louisiana Black Gamecock iris. Of course my husband threw away the receipt so no refund on that one! The one Alba white water lily had two flowers so far (I may want to replant this one into a larger container instead of the little bag it came in- roots are sticking out through the bag!... the pink water lily i bought just has 5 pads or so... no flowers yet. One is blooming now (Purple Pickerel Weed) but only has one small bloom. Personally I am pretty happy with what I have and being a newbie here I am happy anything is blooming or growing right now.

you are lucky for sure as I never had luck with there water plants and some plants they sell are not always healthy .Remember to get your self some cheap 100 % clay kitty litter and I soak mine to get out the fine grey stuff before it goes in the pond .I get the kitty litter at a dollar store or walmart and for a container addy likes her oil pans a lot so may have to try one also and make her floating lily holder except mine will be for a lotus .I like lowes and home depots reduced rack always plenty of bargains .They had cold hardy palms at mine at half the price marked

I got one of those potted lilies from Menards this year. The pink one has been doing great but it hasn't been sending up as many new pads and about 2 blooms a month. Should I replant it in a oil pan? I already have one that I had a lotus in but the koi ate the leaves off it so I don't think its going to make it.

just a comment on these. i bought one from pet smart. it was nearly a month before it finally shot out stems and leaves. i was just about to toss it.. so dont toss it to quickly..
i also though it might have caused my algae bloom.. had pefectly clear water then a day or so after i placed it algae bloomed.. also in the midle of the crazy heat we had so hard to say..

Regarding the Louisiana Black Gamecock iris... Do yourself a favor and check local nurseries before you buy another "pond plant". This year, for $10, I got a 1-gallon pot that was overgrown with these irises. I dumped out all the dirt, soaked the bulbs in a bucket of water for a day, and broke up all the bulbs into smaller clusters that I put into the rocks all around the edge of my pond. I planted over a dozen bulbs, all sitting down in the water now, and believe I have only lost one or two of the bulbs. With the rough treatment of being broken up, there is little chance of them flowering this year, but they are growing quite well and I have no doubts I'll see lots of flowers next year.

Certainly a lot better deal than these $5 and $10 specialty-plants that sit on a shelf for months and only give you a single bulb...

Yeh seems a lot of plants for ponds are just plain old plants you plant in the ground and work well in ponds .Cheaper is always better .I look around and read labels and if they like wet locations then they will love a pond .Even plants that they sell for fish tanks work well in some locations

The plants they carry for fish tanks can be used in ponds and they work good but just have to watch your pumps ..Grasses like fountain grass and lemon grass and strawberries and cream plant are great pond plants .So are elephant ears and cannas .Just have to watch you fish do not eat any part of them as it could kill them ,but most fish just ignore plants .Florida hill nursery . com is a good place for plants that are tropical and there are several garden centers in NJ that carry water plants just google your area for plants .Some may not say in there ad but can help you find plants that work

I got my Pickerels and Attraction water lily from Lowes years ago and did wonderfully. Started out as one plant. I've propagated both and now I have more than I know what to do with. Next year I'm planning on selling new cuttings of the plants I've propagated.

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